Category Archives: Undocumented Immigrants

WASHINGTON — The number of illegal immigrants in the US has been rising after plateuing off in recent years. This alarming finding comes from a report of the non-partisan Pew Research Center . To the question as to how many undocumented immigrants are in the US, the Pew Centre says the US had 11.7 undocumented immigrants in 2012.

The illegal migration touched an all-time high of 12.2 million in 2007. Studying the trends from 2010-2013, Pw Centre asserted that Illegal immigration is certainly back with a vengeance. The new surge has more to do with the revival of US economy.

The funding is set to more new ammunition to the Republicans who want harsh border patrolling at the Mexico border before it can consider a broader overhaul of the immigration laws in a bipartisan exercise.

The study notes that the total number of undocumented immigrants living in the USA had been flat in recent years, with many entering the country and leaving it. The authors of the report said it was difficult to attribute the possible increase to any one special factor. Jeffrey Passel, the senior demographer at the Pew Research Center noted that rise and fall in illegal immigration traditionally mirrored the state of the U.S. economy.

Precisely it relates to employment opportunities. The new figures come at a time the Congress is trying to pass a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws to stop future waves of undocumented immigrants into the country.

Numbers Disputed

Former Border Patrol agents have rejected the theory that only 11 million people are living illegally in the country.They say the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. will be close to 20 million. They also argue that the lesson from the 1986 amnesty was that more people cornered benefits than the government initially envisaged.

Demographers say the number of illegal immigrants peaked at 12.4 million in 2007 before it dropped and leveled off at slightly more than 11 million. The Homeland Security Department estimate with January 2011 as the basis puts the illegal population as 11.5 million.

Many studies have also challenged the government estimates including the Bear Stearns report which contented that the actual number could be as high as 20 million.

Border Security

The Senate passed the new Immigration Reform bill in July in which $46 billion is committed for securing America’s border with Mexico and facilitate the 11.7 million undocumented immigrants to apply for U.S. citizenship in 13 years.

Bob Goodlatte chair of the House Judiciary Committee that handled most of the immigration bills, said Pew’s report only affirms their approach. The increase in illegal immigration invalidates Obama regime’s claim that that the borders are secure than ever, Goodlatte said in a statement. Any successful immigration reform must secure the border and guarantee the enforcement of laws.

The main reasons for fall in undocumented immigration during 2007 to 2009 was the shrinking of US economy and loss of jobs. Border enforcement got tougher under the Obama administration deporting 400,000 people a year. During that time Mexican economy was also improving and would-be immigrants stayed home.